I can't believe I don't have a shepherd's pie recipe on the blog--I make it a lot so it was time to pin down my process.
Ingredients:
For the mashed potatoes:
3 large potatoes (approximately 3 pounds), peeled and chopped
1/2-1 cup of non dairy milk (I used soy)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 TBS nutritional yeast
For the filling:
1/2 onion, diced
2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 cups dried lentils (green or brown)
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups mixed vegetables (frozen is fine or a mix of fresh & frozen)
1/2 bag frozen chopped kale
1 can tomato paste
1 TBS vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried poultry seasoning
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1 dried bay leaf
salt & pepper
paprika for topping
To make:
- Preheat oven to 400ºF
- Add the chopped potatoes to a pot and cover with water. Bring to a low boil and cook until fork tender
- Sauté the onions in some water, adding more as needed. Add the minced garlic and cook for a few minutes
- Add lentils and broth and bring to a boil then turn down to simmer until lentils are cooked
- Get your veggies ready. I used a mix of frozen corn and peas, fresh carrots and riced cauliflower
-
Add tomato paste and spices to the lentil mixture while it's cooking.
- Add vegetables to the lentil mixture once the lentils are done cooking (25-35 minutes)
- Add some kale or spinach (optional), stir and heat through, keeping on warm
- Drain the potatoes, reserving some (1/2- 1 cup) of the cooking water.
- Mash the potatoes with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast and non-dairy milk. Add some of the reserved cooking water if needed. Taste for seasonings and adjust if necessary
- Pour the lentil mixture into a 2 quart baking dish (remove the bay leaf)--mine wasn't quite big enough so I had to make a small pie too!
- Spread the mashed potatoes over the lentil mixture
- I like to decorate the top with a fork and to add paprika
The bonus pie.
- Bake at 400ºF for 20-30 minutes until the top is golden brown
Serves 4-6. It's even better the next day!